Epidemiological features and management of complex neck trauma from an ENT surgeon's perspective.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to present a clear picture of the epidemiological aspects pertaining to the cases of neck trauma addressing to the ENT Emergency Room, as well as to display the complexity of the diagnostic and therapeutic management employed in two important Romanian ENTDepartments - „Sfantul Spiridon” Hospital Iasi and SfantaMaria Hospital Bucharest

Material And Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 538 patients with neck trauma that were referred to the abovementioned ENT Departments between March 2009 – March 2011, selecting 27 cases with forensic implications.

Results: In terms of aetiological mechanism, the most frequentneck injuries in our study were penetrating neck injuries due to assault or self-mutilation with white weapons (knives, razor blades, forks, glass) - 56%, followed by blunt trauma cases due to car accident, strangulation or accidental fall – 44%. The most important clinical findings recorded at admission were polytraumas (24.